A few months ago I wrote
about the deceitful, but all too successful, ways sex offenders in the
church act when confronted with abuse allegations. Tragically, the sex
offenders are not the only ones who deceive when confronted with abuse
disclosures. Too often, leaders of faith institutions respond similarly
when confronted with the mishandling of sexual abuse disclosures.
Instead of acknowledging the failure and grieving over the pain the institution has caused an already traumatized victim, some leaders immediately move into self-protection mode and will stop at almost nothing in shifting the focus away from their own reprehensible failings in order to protect personal and organizational reputations. (On an encouraging note, as I my last blog post noted, more and more church leaders are responding to abuse disclosures in a manner that places the affirmation and care of the victim above all else.)
http://boz.religionnews.com/2015/10/02/caught-in-the-spotlight-christian-leaders-who-mishandle-sexual-abuse-disclosures/
Instead of acknowledging the failure and grieving over the pain the institution has caused an already traumatized victim, some leaders immediately move into self-protection mode and will stop at almost nothing in shifting the focus away from their own reprehensible failings in order to protect personal and organizational reputations. (On an encouraging note, as I my last blog post noted, more and more church leaders are responding to abuse disclosures in a manner that places the affirmation and care of the victim above all else.)
http://boz.religionnews.com/2015/10/02/caught-in-the-spotlight-christian-leaders-who-mishandle-sexual-abuse-disclosures/